Teen Dating Violence in New Hampshire: Who Is Most at Risk?

In this brief, authors Katie Edwards and Angela Neal discuss the results of a study examining how demographic characteristics such as sexual orientation, school characteristics such as the school poverty rate, and community characteristics such as the population density of the county relate to the possibility that a New Hampshire teen will be the victim of dating violence. The study included 24,976 high school students at least 13 years old who participated in the 2013 New Hampshire Youth Risk Behavior Survey. The authors report that nearly one in ten New Hampshire teens reported being the victim of physical dating violence during the past year, and more than one in ten New Hampshire teens reported being the victim of sexual dating violence during the past year. Being female, a racial/ethnic minority, or a sexual minority significantly increased the risk of sexual and physical dating violence victimization. They conclude that more research and community conversations are needed about how to ensure that all teens in New Hampshire have access to comprehensive violence prevention initiatives in all grade levels that include a focus on diversity and inclusivity, positive youth development (for example, the sense of mattering and purpose), and structural inequities (such as poverty)

Teen Dating Violence in New Hampshire

Dating violence, defined as physical abuse (such as hitting) or sexual abuse (such as forcible sexual activity) that happens within the context of a current or former relationship, leads to a host of negative consequences, including poor mental and physical health and academic difficulties. Therefore, it is important that researchers examine factors that increase or decrease risk for dating violence, and then use this research to create evidence-based prevention and risk reduction efforts

Genetic Diversity in the Australian Strawberry Breeding Program

The ASBP selects and releases varieties for three diverse climatic regions: the subtropical, temperate and Mediterranean environments. Adeliberate consideration in all breeding programs is to maintain genetic diversity within and across sub-programs. Prior to the development of genomic information and access to inexpensive molecular marker technology, genetic diversity in breeding programs was managed through a thorough understanding of the ancestral relationships between breeding lines, known as pedigree information.In the last decade, two single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) arrays for strawberries (a 90K (Bassil et al., 2015) and then a 35K (Verma et al., 2017)) have been developed that provide cost effective high-throughput genotyping. The ASBP commenced routine genotyping in 2018 with SNP data now available for ~1000 samples including lines from all three target environments, early and advanced material, released varieties, a few external lines, and seedling material from the powdery mildew screening nursery.The results from this analysis will help the breeders guard against unnecessary narrowing of the genetic diversity in the breeding pipeline and further leverage the diversity within and across the sub-programs and target environments

Improving Human Papillomavirus Vaccination Rates in Adolescents: A Quality Improvement Project

Abstract Objective: The purpose of this quality improvement (QI) project was to implement an evidence-based intervention to improve the HPV vaccine series completion rates in the pediatric primary care setting. The goal of the project was to increase HPV series completion rates in adolescents aged 11 to 12 by 10% within 3 months of implementation of the intervention. Methods: A multicomponent intervention was implemented at a pediatric primary care office that included a chart review of 11- and 12-year-old adolescents who had received their first and second dose of the HPV vaccine from June 2019 to June 2020 and patients from June 2020 to June 2021 that only received their first dose of the HPV vaccine. Patients who had only received their first dose between June 2020 and June 2021 and was in the timeframe to receive their second dose was contacted via telephone to schedule an appointment for their vaccine. At the time of scheduling the appointment, verbal consent was obtained to send a follow-up text message reminder two to three days prior to the scheduled appointment date. Results: HPV vaccine series completion rates increased by 12.5% during the 3-month project period. However, the collection data size varied significantly between the number of patients used for the pre-data and post-data collection. Conclusions: An evidence-based intervention can have a significant impact on improving the HPV vaccine series completion rates within adolescents with minor practice changes. Key Words: Human papillomavirus, HPV, adolescent, vaccination, vaccines, compliance, text messages reminders, phone call reminder

Using DNA Information to Breed for Disease-resistant Strawberries

Strawberries are susceptible to many diseases that cause damage to leaves and fruit, such as powdery mildew. Many chemical sprays are used to control disease, but there is an industry, environmental and societal push to move away from fungicides. Breeding for disease-resistant varieties offers an alternative approach, and DNA information can be used in this strategy. We identified multiple genetic markers linked with resistance to powdery mildew in leaves and fruit using a statistical modelling method called ‘genome-wide association studies’. We also used DNA information across the entire genome to predict the susceptibility of different strawberry varieties. These results will help Queensland strawberry breeders to identify candidate varieties that are resistant to powdery mildew without expensive and time-consuming disease screening trials. These statistical methods can also be applied to other diseases, as well as yield and fruit quality traits

December 2019 School of Graduate Studies Newsletter

Remarks from the Associate Dean SGS Announcements Recognition & Awards Research Activity Ph.D. in Aviation News MSA News MSOSM News Brown Bags & Presentations Alumni Newshttps://commons.erau.edu/db-sgs-newletter/1001/thumbnail.jp

Orientation and verbal fluency in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing: modifiable risk factors for falls?

Objectives:To determine the relationship between falls and deficits in specific cognitive domains in older adults.Design:An analysis of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) cohort.Setting:United Kingdom community-based.Participants:5197 community-dwelling older adults recruited to a prospective longitudinal cohort study.Measurements:Data on the occurrence of falls and number of falls, which occurred during a 12-month follow-up period, were assessed against the specific cognitive domains of memory, numeracy skills, and executive function. Binomial logistic regression was performed to evaluate the association between each cognitive domain and the dichotomous outcome of falls in the preceding 12 months using unadjusted and adjusted models.Results:Of the 5197 participants included in the analysis, 1308 (25%) reported a fall in the preceding 12 months. There was no significant association between the occurrence of a fall and specific forms of cognitive dysfunction after adjusting for self-reported hearing, self-reported eyesight, and functional performance. After adjustment, only orientation (odds ratio [OR]: 0.80; 95% confidence intervals [CI]: 0.65-0.98, p = 0.03) and verbal fluency (adjusted OR: 0.98; 95% CI: 0.96-1.00; p = 0.05) remained significant for predicting recurrent falls.Conclusions:The cognitive phenotype rather than cognitive impairment per se may predict future falls in those presenting with more than one fall

Our Space: Being a Responsible Citizen of the Digital World

Our Space is a set of curricular materials designed to encourage high school students to reflect on the ethical dimensions of their participation in new media environments. Through role-playing activities and reflective exercises, students are asked to consider the ethical responsibilities of other people, and whether and how they behave ethically themselves online. These issues are raised in relation to five core themes that are highly relevant online: identity, privacy, authorship and ownership, credibility, and participation.Our Space was co-developed by The Good Play Project and Project New Media Literacies (established at MIT and now housed at University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communications and Journalism). The Our Space collaboration grew out of a shared interest in fostering ethical thinking and conduct among young people when exercising new media skills

Improving the health forecasting alert system for cold weather and heat-waves in England: a proof-of-concept using temperature-mortality relationships

Objectives In this study a prototype of a new health forecasting alert system is developed, which is aligned to the approach used in the Met Office’s (MO) National Severe Weather Warning Service (NSWWS). This is in order to improve information available to responders in the health and social care system by linking temperatures more directly to risks of mortality, and developing a system more coherent with other weather alerts. The prototype is compared to the current system in the Cold Weather and Heatwave plans via a case-study approach to verify its potential advantages and shortcomings. Method The prototype health forecasting alert system introduces an “impact vs likelihood matrix” for the health impacts of hot and cold temperatures which is similar to those used operationally for other weather hazards as part of the NSWWS. The impact axis of this matrix is based on existing epidemiological evidence, which shows an increasing relative risk of death at extremes of outdoor temperature beyond a threshold which can be identified epidemiologically. The likelihood axis is based on a probability measure associated with the temperature forecast. The new method is tested for two case studies (one during summer 2013, one during winter 2013), and compared to the performance of the current alert system. Conclusions The prototype shows some clear improvements over the current alert system. It allows for a much greater degree of flexibility, provides more detailed regional information about the health risks associated with periods of extreme temperatures, and is more coherent with other weather alerts which may make it easier for front line responders to use. It will require validation and engagement with stakeholders before it can be considered for use

Warrenton, Warren County, North Carolina : an action oriented community diagnosis including secondary data analysis and qualitative data collection

This document is a result of a community diagnosis of Warrenton, North Carolina, a community located in Warren County. A community diagnosis is a research project that aims to assess the strengths and weaknesses of and help identify future directions for a community. In essence, a community diagnosis seeks to understand communities and the people who live and work there. The community diagnosis of Warrenton was completed by five graduate students in the Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, School of Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In order to better understand Warrenton, the students collected secondary data about the area’s history, economy, demographics, education, income, and health indicators. To gain a more in-depth view of Warrenton, the team of students conducted qualitative interviews with service providers and focus groups with community members. These discussions helped the team further assess community strengths, weaknesses, and future directions. Between November 2000 and March 2001, nine face-to-face interviews and five focus groups were completed. The University of North Carolina’s Institutional Review Board (IRB) approved this interview process. The interviewees and focus group participants were individuals recommended by our preceptor, Mary Marrow, or by other interviewees. After analyzing secondary and qualitative data, the team held a community meeting in Warren County on April 24, 2001 to present the findings. This meeting was planned and conducted with the help of the Warren County Planning Committee, a group of community members and service providers interested in bringing about change in Warrenton and Warren County. Findings were separated into major themes considered to be of importance to the people of Warrenton and Warren County. The team identified Economics, Recreation, Education, Transportation, Sense of Community and Collaboration, Politics and the People, and Race Relations as the themes that emerged from the interviews and focus groups. The purpose of this document is to summarize the findings of the Warrenton Community Diagnosis.Master of Public Healt